Short Summary

New inventions of the Post Office Research Department: letter sorting machine and speech synthesiser.

Description

London.

C/U shot of a basket filled with letters. Hands approach the basket and remove some of the letters from the basket. M/S of a man carrying the letters to place them in the letters sorting machine. Machine is still in the experimental stage but, once completed, it will considerably increase the efficiency of the mail service. M/S of a man sitting at a little desk (part of the letter sorting machine) with a keyboard and the 'predecessor of the computer screen' with the window in front of him.

Succession of shots demonstrates how the letter sorting machine works, while the voiceover explains its characteristics, advantages and hindrances. Letters are pushed and then dropped one by one to the window in front of the postal worker so he can read the address on each letter and press the appropriate button on the keyboard. Letter travels along the roller to the wanted compartment.

M/S of a man and a woman standing in front of the large command board. Man seems to be explaining to the woman how to operate the machine. Machine makes peculiar noise which vaguely resembles human voice. C/U shot of the man's hands operating the two miniature joysticks placed into the two circular holes on the machine. This is synthetic speech making machine (an attempt), a work of the Post Office Research Department. It can only pronounce vowels, but maybe, one day...

Several shots of different parts of the machine as the couple demonstrate how it works. It repeats the words after human voice recording, although extremely unclear. But if the experiment works "it would greatly cut cut down the cost of long distance communications like the transatlantic cables". C/U shot of the machine.